No travel required: Free online CE available for AMD

Member optometrists can now access a free online continuing education (CE) course on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), previously available only as a traveling CE course.

Optometrists who work in this field will have some of the most grateful patients they've ever had.

Accessible to ODs on AOA's online learning resource, EyeLearn (member login required), the comprehensive course compiles two modules of AMD-related education into a web-based format that saves members both time and money.

This is the first AMD course available to members on EyeLearn, and is divided into two modules—"Comprehensive Care of the AMD Patient: Vision Rehabilitation," and "Comprehensive Care of the AMD Patient: Nutrition." The coursework helps bolster clinical knowledge in the latest options for diagnosis and treatment of patients' AMD with emphases on management of condition and nutritional considerations.

Learn approaches to AMD patients' careA leading cause of severe vision loss in adults over age 50, AMD affects about 1.8 million Americans and could affect as many as 2.95 million by 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. David Lewerenz, O.D., AOA Vision Rehabilitation Section vice chair, says AMD affects people in a profound way, but there are many things optometrists can do to help.

"Low vision rehabilitation for AMD is not a trial-and-error process," says Dr. Lewerenz—presenter of the vision rehabilitation module—adding only after an evaluation of a patient's visual capabilities can optometrists then be confident in making recommendations that will help the patient live a more independent life.

"This course scratches the surface of vision rehabilitation, and concentrates mostly on the task of reading for people with AMD. Optometrists who work in this field will have some of the most grateful patients they've ever had when helping patients with AMD get more out of life."

Complementing the vision rehabilitation session, the nutrition module also helps enhance practitioners' knowledge of nutritional supplements for patients—increasingly important in AMD management as was highlighted by the release of the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS2).

"Keeping abreast of the literature in this rapidly evolving area is challenging," says Kimberly Reed, O.D., presenter of the AMD nutrition module. "This course [Comprehensive Care of the AMD Patient: Nutrition] is a practical approach to the complexities of nutrition and AMD."